Paul Wolfe

Paul Wolfe, American classical pianist and musician. Original, vintage, pen and ink, "on-the-spot" illustration by George 'Georges' Krishizki. The hand drawn illustration has been signed by Wolfe, and additionally signed, dated and titled by Krishizki: "Georges / 1974 / Paul Wolfe playing Partita No 6 in E Minor by J.S. Bach."

With early musical aspirations, Wolfe began to play both the piano and the violin in his youth. His New York debut recital, at age 12, featured the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. At 15, he began his conducting career with the WNYC Radio Orchestra. While at Queens College studying mathematics and economics, he played in the first violin section of the New York Symphony under Leopold Stokowski. This was followed by performances with Frank Sinatra at CBS, weeks with Mark Warnow and Paul Whiteman at the Capitol Theater, and other diverse musical engagements.

Wolfe devoted much of his time in New York to making symphonic recordings for Columbia Records, RCA and other companies, working with artists such as Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein, Alexander Schneider, Rudolf Serkin, Alfred Wallenstein, Arthur Rubenstein, Leopold Stokowski, and Igor Stravinsky. In 1957, he took part in the first Casals Festival in Puerto Rico as a violinist and keyboard artist, and continued to participate until 1966.

George 'Georges' Krishizki (March 22, 1924 – December 20, 2001), Russian-Polish-American illustrator who came to the U.S. in 1949. While he earned acclaim for his renderings of the city’s architectural landmarks, it was his on-the-spot drawings of musicians in performance that attracted an especially appreciative audience. In a 1973 article published in conjunction with two simultaneous exhibitions, Georges explained the genesis of his long-running engagement with the concert hall: “I’ve always enjoyed going to concerts, and one day I decided it would be fun to combine my interests in music and art and make sketches of musicians during performances.”  Indeed, the most remarkable feature of Georges’ oeuvre, apart from the astounding range of performers who gladly expressed their approval and appreciation by signing, is the skill with which the drawings are accomplished.

This original pen and ink illustration, measuring approximately 9 x 12, on heavy-weight sketch paper, is in fine condition with some light overall toning. Its verso is blank and clean.